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Ford has reduced the amount of energy used to produce one vehicle in its manufacturing facilities by 10 percent from 2010 to 2011, and by 22 percent in the last six years, according to the company’s 2011 corporate sustainability report.

In 2011, the company used 2,778 kWh to produce one vehicle, down from 3,087 kWh in 2010. The company had a goal of cutting its normalized CO2 emissions from manufacturing by 3 percent over that time period.

Following the strong progress made on energy use in manufacturing, Ford has announced plans to reduce usage another 25 percent on a per-vehicle basis by 2016, based on 2011 levels.

From 2010 to 2011 the company’s worldwide CO2 emissions dropped just under two percent, from 5.2 to 5.1 million metric tons. Normalized emissions dropped almost 10 percent in that time period, from 1.01 metric tons to 0.91 metric tons of CO2 emissions per vehicle manufactured. In 2010 the company set a goal to reduce its facility carbon dioxide emissions by 30 percent by 2025 on a per-vehicle basis. The report says that the company is on track to meet this goal.

Ford says it has achieved these energy and carbon emission reductions by using a variety of energy management initiatives. To facilitate performance tracking, Ford launched the Global Emissions Manager database in 2007. This database provides a consistent approach for measuring and monitoring environmental data, and helps facilities track their efforts to reduce water consumption, energy use, carbon dioxide emissions and the amount of waste sent to landfill. Each Ford facility uses this tool to measure environmental targets and to track and accelerate improvements designed with the environment in mind. The targets are reviewed and updated annually, the report says.

The company also uses energy performance contracting as a means of financing improvements to the efficiency of infrastructure at its plants. Through these contacts Ford pays for improvements out of energy savings generated by the refits. In 2010 and 2011 the company carried out a lighting efficiency upgrade at 17 buildings in Michigan. The project reduced energy use by more than 18.2 million kWh, eliminated more than 11,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions and cut annual costs by more than $1.3 million, the report says.

In 2011, Ford facilities globally sent about 56,000 metric tons of waste to landfill, a reduction of 11.3 percent from 2010. Year-on-year the company also reduced landfill disposal by more than 19 percent on a per-vehicle basis. Ford has reduced waste to landfill on a per-vehicle basis by almost 40 percent over the last five years and plans to further reduce its waste to landfill by 10 percent per vehicle this year, the report says (see graph, below).

Ford plants in Michigan; Cologne, Germany; Genk, Belgium; Chennai, India; Lio Ho, Taiwan and Nanchang, China have all achieved zero waste-to-landfill status. The company’s Flat Rock, Mich., facility has developed a way of turning overspray paint into fuel used by local utilities. Since early 2010 this process has recycled 163 tons of paint waste, the report says.

In 2011, Ford facilities globally generated about 42,000 metric tons of hazardous waste, which the company calls “comparable” to its 2010 hazardous waste generation levels. It has reduced hazardous waste on a per-vehicle basis by 10 percent from 2010 and by 16 percent over the last five years.

Ford reduced its water use to 4.7 cubic meters per vehicle in 2011, down from 5.1 cubic meters in 2010. The company has a corporate goal of reducing the amount of water used per vehicle by 30 percent between 2009 and 2015. Ford’s total water use increased from 26.3 million cubic meters to 26.8 million cubic meters year-on-year.

The company says it is taking a closer look at water use at facilities in water-stressed regions.